
The Tan family, from Hunan, was new to the block and Mrs. Tan loved to cook. Her family enjoyed her stinky tofu (臭豆腐), so she cooked it twice a week.
One afternoon, they heard a knock on the door. It was from the community workers. They had received a complaint (投诉) from the Tans’ neighbors, the Lees, about the smell of the stinky tofu.
Mrs. Tan said sorry and decided that she would close the kitchen window the next time. That was what she did the following week. However, the community worker came to them again for the same problem.
“I have closed the kitchen WINDOWS!” she said in anger. Actually I can’t stand the habit of eating durians (榴莲). The smell of the durians is too strong for me.
The community worker then decided to call for a meeting with the durians at the beginning. Both Mrs. Tan and Mrs Lee had a scowl on the faces. They even didn’t look at each other. The community worker explained the disagreement. He suggested that the Tans can eat stinky tofu twice a month. Similarity, the Lees should try to cat durians weeks. Mrs Tan agreed and even invited Mrs Lee to taste her sticky tofu.
After a month, the community worker met up with both families to see if they got any progress. Mrs Lee was full of praise, “Your tofu tastes so good! You are a good cook, Mrs Lee. Shall I bring some durians for you next time You might love them”. “Perhaps.” said Mrs Tan politely. From then on they learned to accept their likes and dislikes.